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Comment by IshKebab | Hacker News Reader

Bluey is easily the best children's TV. I mean I'd barely class it as children's TV; it's good by adult standards.

It's a bit annoying really because there isn't anything else like it at all. I would say the closest things are Pixar films which manage to appeal to adults and children. I'm not aware of any TV like that though. Apart from Bluey we're stuck with trash like Paw Patrol, Bing, Blippi, etc.

There are a small number that are not extremely annoying, but you still wouldn't actually want to watch them: Gabby's Dollhouse, Puffin Island, maybe Hey Duggee.

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I'm not sure there's ever been more options for good shows that a parent can watch and genuinely enjoy with their kids. Try Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, Hilda, Sarah & Duck, Adventure Time, Miraculous, The Dragon Prince, MLP Friendship is Magic, She-Ra and the Princess of Power, Samurai Jack, Gravity Falls, Ducktales (the new one, but the old one isn't bad either), Cleopatra in Space, Amphibia, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Owl House, Craig of the Creek, Steven Universe, LEGO Elves, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Over the Garden Wall, Infinity Train, and the Disney Fairies movies.

I'd also recommend getting your hands on the cartoons you enjoyed as a kid. Odds are good your kids will like them for the same reasons you did, although you may find that they don't all hold up for you.

I think those are for older kids than the ones I'm talking about.

Some are for sure, but a lot of those shows hold up well for all ages. I don't put much faith in marketers to decide which shows are for what demographics. Better to see what lands for yourself. It helps when you're watching and discussing the shows with your kids too.

Some of them, Adventure time being a great example, can appeal to very young kids but they'll find new meaning in those episodes as they get older.

I think shows like Infinity Train, Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, Steven Universe, and Samurai Jack will be better after a kid is old enough that Cocomelon wouldn't hold any appeal, but even at that age Sarah & Duck, Hilda, MLP, Craig of the Creek, etc could still be good. Just about anything that holds their attention and isn't Cocomelon is a huge win. If you'll enjoy it, all the better.

Thanks for the list anyway, I'll test some out on them!

> I'd also recommend getting your hands on the cartoons you enjoyed as a kid.

I grew up with WB Loony Tunes (and Tex Avery and Superchicken and Wacky Racers and...), and that style of animation looks positively ancient in comparison to the modern animation style - whatever you call it - rendered as sort-of-3D. For example, Paw Patrol.

This actually worries me because I want my kid (currently 5yo) to have the benefit of the utter anarchy of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and Roadrunner.

Put on some Loony Toons! Don't worry that it's old. Kids that young don't have enough sense of the timeline to know just how ancient any animation style is, but Loony Toons will stand out for sure. 3D garbage-tier animation is everywhere in kids shows because it's fast and cheap. 3D animation is often much less expressive and dynamic though. The more variety in animation you expose a kid too, the sooner they'll be able to notice bad animation when they see it.

In my limited sample size, the new Roadrunner 3D cartoons get significantly fewer laughs than the hand drawn ones. The style is irrelevant to the humour, however there does seem to be a correlation between quantity of TNT and enjoyment - new ones have none.

When your kids are older there's "Phineas and Ferb" and "Gravity Falls" which are both good enough to be watched without kids.

I would say Gravity Falls much more so than Phineas and Ferb. The latter doesn't have much of a series-long story arc, whereas the former very much does have one.

Craig of the Creek was also pretty good, though I don't think it has a wider arc (I am not entirely certain though.)

Phineas and Ferb was actually NOT written with kids directly in mind, and as a comfortable pop culture medium between the tame-over-time Simpsons and raunchier Family Guy and South Park. A mostly wholesome, wacky and chaotic series where the good guys always win and usually spectacularly. Phineas and Ferb never really learn anything but the other characters do.

PBS Kids has excellent shows for little kids and is free. There is a website, Apple TV app, etc. I’m surprised by how little it seems to be known compared to commercial options like Netflix or Nick Jr.

Old episodes of Blues Clues are also great for little kids.

Moomins - the 90s version especially. Most of the episodes are suitable for toddlers and at least our kids have been enjoying it.

Indeed Pixar movies are the other option when we want to watch them with them.

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